Downtown Parking System

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​In the spring of 2018, a new, parking system was introduced in downtown Lethbridge to replace the aging parking meters. This new technology provides more flexibility for residents and collects important data on parking usage in order to make informed decision around parking in our downtown core. For more information on how to use the parking system see our Frequently Asked Questions below.

New Prepaid Parking Cards

We are excited to provide another payment option for downtown parking with the introduction of our new parking cards. These prepaid and reloadable cards can be used at any downtown parking kiosk and with the Way to Park mobile app.

For more information on how to get a new parking cards see our Frequently Asked Questions below.

How do I use the machines?

After parking in one of the over 1900 downtown parking stalls, drivers will walk to the nearest kiosks, select the zone they are parked in, enter their plate number and pay for their parking by coin or credit card. There is also the convenient option of paying for and monitoring parking time through a smartphone app.

​The name of the downtown parking app is Way to Park. With this app you can open an account, put a credit card or prepaid parking card on file and enter your license plate numbers. Each time you wish to park using the app, simply start your parking session using the app and end it the same way.

By following the easy directions within the app, you can pay for and monitor your parking time.

​For those who don't own a credit card or don't want to use a credit card to pay for parking, the prepaid parking card can be used as an alternative to carrying cash.

These prepaid and reloadable cards can be used at any downtown parking kiosk and with the Way to Park mobile app. Parking cards can be purchased at City Hall and loaded with any dollar amount. When that money is used up, the card owner can return to City Hall to reload it. There is a one-time purchase fee of $5 for a parking card but no additional fees to reload the card.

Parking card users have access to an online portal to view their card balance and previous transactions.

​In order see the available parking, you will need to zoom in as close as you can on the map. Once you've done this, place the little black arrow over the street you are parked on and the zone number will appear. When you see this, you can proceed to pay.

​Each street/area has signs stating the zone number. Be sure to look for this sign before heading to the kiosk. If you pay at the kiosk closest to where you parked, the opening screen will say what zone you are in.

​There are three zones in the downtown each with a different maximum parking time allowed. These zones help ensure there is parking turnover in areas that have high visitor and customer traffic.

​A maximum time limit is established in each zone to facilitate turnover. You can make up to two maximum purchase in each zone/day but you cannot make your second purchase until after your first has expired. After your two max purchases have been reached, you must move your vehicle to a new zone.

Historically, we have not experienced more demand than supply of 10 hour spots. However, the spot closest to your destination may not always be available. We do monitor this on a regular basis and with 600 10 hour spots currently in the downtown, we only have 250 spots purchase through the monthly parking plan. Our new system will give us good data that we can use to monitor the usage of 10 hour parking.

The accessible stalls will continue to have individual parking meters
at each location as they do today. The meters will continue to be the same one
in use now (limited capabilities) however, if a person wished to use the new
system to pay for parking they could do that instead of plugging the
meter. It is up to the customer. The enforcement agent will check
both before issuing any tickets.

​Yes, because of processing fees there is a minimum purchase of $1.80 if using your credit card. This may mean you have to add more than the minimum time in some zones so that the total is over the $1.80 charge. This is to cover the service charges incurred in offering the credit card option.

​They will be removed and handled in accordance with City policies. This could include a combination of recycling and selling of old meters. Don't worry, we'll save one for the Galt Museum and Archives as a little piece of our city's history.

​There are many options with the new system for employers to pay for staff parking. It can be purchased at the kiosk which includes hourly and monthly options. It can also be purchased through the Way to Park app. This option allows you to register multiple vehicles and even use different credit cards to pay for daily parking.

​This is to encourage the intended use of these spaces - long-term parking in the downtown. The goal of having different zones is to help accommodate the many different needs in the downtown core from daily, employee parking to quicker customer parking. For those planning to only stay in the downtown for a short amount of time, the two and three hour zones, with no minimum requirements are recommended.